Banff’s hotel of the rich and famous

These candid poses of actress Marilyn Monroe were taken in Banff and Jasper during a hiatus in the filming of River of No Return in the summer of 1953. They were taken by Look magazine photographer John Vachon, who seems to have unfettered access to Monroe, then at the height of her career.The estate of John Vachon, Dover Publications Inc., Reuters
/ Postmedia News

King George Vi and Queen Elizabeth enjoy a moment in Banff in 1939.
/ COURTESY PROVINCIAL ARCHIVES OF

Sir Winston Churchill, at the Banff Springs Hotel, end of July 1929.Henry Pollard
/ Herald archive

Marilyn Monroe recuperatesan injured ankle at Banff Springs Hotel during the 1953 filming of the movie River of No Return.
/ Whyte Museum and AP

Olympic gold medalist Jamie Sale waits with a friend before having her wedding pictures taken outside the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. She married her skating partner David Pelletier in a ceremony at the hotel.Ted Rhodes
/ Calgary Herald

Belinda Stronach answers media questions on the balcony of the Banff Springs Hotel in the company of RCMP Cst. Howard Cann as she made one of two Alberta stops on her cross-country campaign.Jenelle Schneider
/ Calgary Herald

Actress Glenn Close checked out the ice sculptures at the Banff Springs Hotell. She was on hand for the Fairmont Banff Springs Sports Invitiational in 2002.Colleen Kidd
/ Calgary Herald

Live! With Kelly star Kelly Ripa and her husband co-host Mark Consuelos, holds upa picture of the Banff Springs Hotel while they were taping the first of four shows at the Eric Harvie theatre in Banff on Sunday, APRIL 1, 2012.Lorraine Hjalte
/ Calgary Herald

Kim Cattrall, the Canadian of Sex and the City fame, was the star attraction at the Banff World Television Festival at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. She is pictured doing a round of interviews prior to receiving the NBC Universal Canada Award of Distinction at the festival.Ted Rhodes
/ Calgary Herald

Actress Kim Cattrall is whisked through the afternoon drizzle into a waiting vehicle after giving her address at the Banff World Television Festival at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.Ted Rhodes
/ Calgary Herald

Actor Woody Harrrelson mugged for the camera after a dinner party for celebrities and participants in the Fairmont Banff Springs Celebrity Sports Invitational at the Banff Springs Hotel in 2002.Colleen Kidd
/ Calgary Herald

Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones make their entrance to the Waterkeeper Alliance at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in 2004.Grant Black
/ Calgary Herald

Canadian actor Jason Priestley and Naomi Lowde enjoyed the festivities during a reception at the Banff Springs Hotel in 2002.Colleen Kidd
/ Calgary Herald

In early 20th-century books, it was described as a “stately pile,” and “a most sumptuous affair,” before being christened the ...

Photographed cavorting near Bow Falls or at poolside, Hollywood actress Marilyn Monroe is perhaps the most famous guest to have bedded down at the Banff Springs Hotel.

In town for eight days in 1953 to shoot the film River of No Return with Robert Mitchum, Monroe met locals at the pool and in the hotel while recuperating from an injured ankle.

The doomed starlet joins a long list of celebrities, royalty and dignitaries who have graced the elegant halls of the Banff Springs.

“Prime ministers, presidents, Winston Churchill. We’d be here all afternoon going over the movie stars,” said Dave Moberg, manager of guest relations, who’s worked at the hotel for 51 years.

His favourite celebrity experience was meeting Lee Marvin, who stayed three months while filming 1981’s Death Hunt with Charles Bronson and Angie Dickinson.

“Now I’m showing my age,” Moberg joked.

“It was a beautiful Indian Summer day; he arrived in a black limousine, Harris Tweed coat, silver hair. I welcomed him to the hotel and said, “Can I escort you to your suite?’ He said, ‘Hell no, Dave, take me to the bar.’”

Such stories abound from hotel staff about its famous guests, even those dating back decades.

William Cunningham, regional sales manager, related one famous tale from the 1930s.

Apparently the CPR, the owner of the Banff Springs, went to great lengths so jazz great Benny Goodman could visit. The musician wanted to come but only if he could fly his plane there. There was no airstrip, so the CPR arranged to have one cleared.

Henry Fonda, Mickey Rooney and Ginger Rogers also visited in those early years.

Later guests included King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, Indira Gandhi and her entourage of hundreds, Margaret Thatcher, and Mikhail Gorbachev, a young Russian secretary of agriculture on a tour of Canada in 1983.

The imposing Gorbachev, who went on to become first president of the Soviet Union, so rattled a young waitress that she spilled soup on him.

“Her hand was shaking so bad she spilled it as she went to set it down,” said Deon Klatt, of guest services who heard the story directly from the banquet captain who was there in the Oak Room.

“It went silent in the room. Gorbachev beckoned (the banquet captain) with one finger. He went over and leaned down to Gorbachev. And in that deep voice, he said “I won’t tell if you won’t tell.”

The past 10 to 20 years at Banff Springs have seen a trend toward Hollywood stars attending events such as the Waterkeeper Alliance Celebrity Invitational.

Sometimes the staff gets to go behind the scenes with their celebrity guests.

“I had to deliver dry cleaning — I had about 20 hangars for this one room — and as soon as I got off the elevator I could hear music pumping down the hall,” said Klatt. “As I went down the hall it was getting louder and louder. I mean, it was really blasting.”

It turned out the room with the music was where the laundry needed to go. After knocking repeatedly on the open door to no avail, Klatt went in.

“It’s John Daly,” said Klatt, still with a touch of wonder in his voice.

The hard-living PGA star was at Banff Springs for the 2006 Telus Skins Game and was kicking back in his room between rounds.

“He invited me in for a drink — Grey Goose and orange juice, well there wasn’t much orange juice — so I stayed and had a drink with him and we shot the shit and I jammed with him.”

Asked whether that’s allowed while on duty, Klatt surmised, “When John Daly asks you to have a drink, you don’t say no. It’s guest relations after all.”

Klatt has also tracked down American cigarettes for actress Catherine Zeta-Jones who was there with her husband Michael Douglas, and Robin Williams gave him an impromptu private standup show one day.

“I met Al Gore and there’ve been lots of NHL teams come through. We get a lot of famous people staying here. It’s always interesting.”

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